


One More Left Behind

by AJsHellCat



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-13
Updated: 2013-02-15
Packaged: 2017-11-29 04:09:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/682612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AJsHellCat/pseuds/AJsHellCat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>my version of how The Duplicate Doctor and Rose adjust to life after Journey's End. Or rather, how they fall in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Going Through The Motions

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or its characters. sadly. Also, this is my very first Doctor Who fic ever so I really hope you like it!

 

“ _...And how was that sentence going to end?” Rose demanded, looking into the eyes of the man she loved._

 

“ _Doesn't need saying.” The Doctor answered, sadly._

 

“ _And you,  Doctor?” Rose turned to the Duplicate, Meta-Crisis, whatever you wanted to call him. He laid a hand on her shoulder and bent to whisper in her ear._

 

“ _I love you...”_

 

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

 

Rose started awake, jarred by the sound of her alarm clock. She sighed heavily, brushing stray hairs from her face.

 

The same damn dream. Of that same damn terrible, awful, horrible day.

 

The day she finally found out that the Doctor returned her love with his own, that he had given her his heart as she had to him. And what had come of it?

 

Rose was left with a man who was grown accidentally from his severed hand. A man who was supposed to essentially be the Doctor, have his memories, feel his feelings...

 

She hadn't even spoken a word to him since she simply turned on her heel and walked away after the Doctor left with Donna.

 

Donna...

 

Oh, how she envied her. -She- got to be with him, while Rose was stuck here, without him, her heart in pieces at her feet.

 

That was two days ago now. A miserable 48 hours.

 

Rose slowly shuffled out of her room and down to the kitchen. She went through the motions of making tea, not because she wanted it but simply to give her hands something to do. Otherwise, she would simply just be.

 

 

Oh, she'd told herself she should be strong, help the duplicate adjust to a normal human life, that that would help ease the pain. He deserved it too, she knew. It wasn't his fault that he was what he was and how he came to be. The duplicate hadn't chosen the life he got.

 

Rose bit her lip, hard, against the tears that threatened. It was so unfair. He wore the face of the man she loved, but wasn't. The light in his eyes when we looked at her, that said he loved her, was there.

 

Damn... That made it so much worse, knowing that she had the Duplicate's heart. He deserved so much better. Someone who hadn't known his counterpart and wouldn't constantly compare the two as she had done from the moment she'd first laid eyes on him.

He needed someone who could give him their heart, fully, completely. And only to him.

 

Rose knew she couldn't give him that. Hell, wouldn't give him that.

 

The vibration from her phone broke her free from her bleak thoughts. It was a text message, work related.

 

Torchwood...

 

So it begins.

 

With a sigh, Rose finished her tea and headed back upstairs to get dressed. She bypassed her usual attire and went for a drawer of clothing that she'd gotten from friends who had tried to get her wear something different for once, but had never succeeded.

 

Well, today they would.

 

When Rose Tyler walked into the main lobby of Torchwood, she turned heads.

 

Her mother, Jackie Tyler, was amongst them. “Rose?” she said, as if she couldn't quite believe this was her daughter.

 

Rose wore a deep forest green pencil skirt and fitted blazer, with a light gold coloured silk blouse and heels to match. Her hair, a harsh bun at the back of her head, her make minimal but just a bit more than she usually wore.

 

In a word, she looked stunning. Like a woman. No just that, but one that belonged within the Torchwood walls.

 

She flashed her ID badge to the security guard and then headed straight for the elevators.

 

“Rose!” Jackie turned to Pete who had been standing next to her, just as god-smacked as everyone else, “That was Rose...”

 

Pete could only nod.

 

In the elevator, Rose caught a glimpse of herself and started a little. Yes, she'd seen the finished product in her bathroom mirror, but seeing it in a full length reflective surface was something else.

 

It was the farthest from her real self as she could get. And that was how she wanted it.

 

The whole day people stared at her opened mouthed in various stages and levels of shock. She learned to ignore it, though, and just went through the motions.

 

It wasn't until lunch time, and she was sipping a cup of tea, that she saw -him-.

 

The air seemed to leave her lungs, her heart began to race, her control began to fray at the edges.

 

No! No! She wasn't ready for this! No!

Rose turned on her heel and retreated, hoping he hadn't noticed her. Unfortunately, he had.

 

“Rose...”

 

Oh, God... the way he said her name. The naked longing, the hope...

 

 

Suddenly, she felt a hand rest gently on her shoulder. Rose didn't need to turn around to know it was him. She did anyway, and instantly regretted it.

 

There they were. All of those feelings he had for her that she desperately wanted to avoid, to pretend didn't exist. He never pushed her, pleaded, or demanded. He simply watched, waited, yearned, and loved.

 

Lord help if that didn't make her very afraid...

 

“Doctor.” she said, trying to sound the right level of friendly without giving him false hope. No, not hard at all...

 

 

“Long time no see.”

 

“It's been two days.” she found herself smiling a little.

 

He shrugged in an impossibly adorable way. 

 

“Have a good day, Doctor.” God, she needed to get away from him. Fast. He was tugging at her heartstrings in a way she hadn't thought he could.

 

The man she loved wasn't here. Rose had to remember that. He was gone. Forever. With someone else. Turning on her heel, she tried to walk away rather than run. Rose just barely succeeded.

 

The Meta-crisis, Duplicate Doctor, whatever you wanted to call him, hell he wasn't sure what to call himself yet, watched her go.

 

Yes, it had only been two days, but they'd been a very painful two days for him. He knew exactly why she was avoiding him. He accepted it and hated it at the same time. He wanted so much for Rose to care for him as he did for her. To see her smile, laugh, and fill the room with the warmth in her heart.

 

That would take time. He'd been as patient as he could be, standing back, giving her space. It was one of the hardest things he'd ever done in his short existence.

 

Rose stopped, turned to look at him. Why can't you love someone who can love you back, you daft half-alien, she thought sadly.

 

He didn't deserve this heartache. Not at all.

 

Rose gathered her courage and kept walking, the sound of her heels echoing down the hall.


	2. Connecting

This went on for months, this dance. Rose didn't avoid him as much as she did in the beginning, but she still kept herself emotionally distant, giving him only a friendship the same as everyone else. 

There had been slip ups, where she'd touched his shoulder, his arm, in a moment of excitement or a tinge of fear at whatever was threatening her world at the time.

Rose didn't realize that the meta-crisis was the only one she ever did that to, outside of her family. He knew, and that kept him going. Not to say he wasn't standing on his own two feet otherwise. He was a valuable asset to Torchwood, with the expansive knowledge he had of aliens, other worlds, technology to name a few. 

Whenever necessity called for them to work together, they did, and well too. Instincts, memories, lessons, all seemed to kick in, making them a well oiled machine. 

If it was going to get hairy, they all said, you needed Doctor Too (as they had affectionately started calling him) and Rose Tyler. 

Jackie Tyler had to admit that the chemistry between the two of them was undeniable. She knew a blooming romance when she saw it. Unfortunately they were as blind as bloody bats. 

Maybe, she could help them see it...

Whilst a mother plotted, her daughter was kicking off her heels at home and sighing in contentment. Her feet ached terribly and she wanted nothing more than to find that foot bath she'd gotten for Christmas and have a nice soak. 

They'd prevented another potential take over by the Daleks, who were multiplying at a rather alarming rate these days. Luckily their weaponry had improved thanks to Doctor Too's help so they had a much better defense against them. 

Hopefully, that would deter them from attacking this world at least. Rose wished they wouldn't attack any, but she knew that was wishful and even foolish thinking. Ever the optimist. 

As if in disapproval, thunder rumbled in the distance. 

Rose eventually found her foot bath and her favourite soak. Ah yes, life's simple pleasures. 

Rain began to fall lightly as Rose filled her foot bath with warm water. Whatever the weather, she was going to have happy feet and that was that. 

She sank into an over stuffed leather recliner her mother had insisted on getting. Oh, what a wonderful chair. It conformed to her back just right, letting tension begin to leave her body. 

The warm water and the gentle scent of the soak finished the process. 

Idly, she removed the pins from her hair that held her bun in place. It was a practical hairstyle, but she had to be honest and say she hated it. 

She sighed in relief as her hair came free, spilling down to the middle of her back. She hadn't gotten around to cutting it to her usual shoulder length style as she'd been busy with work. Still, she liked it this length. Perhaps she'd keep it this way. 

Ah, mundane thoughts about her hair were far more enjoyable than thoughts of Daleks or any other hostile aliens that she'd come across with the Torchwood team these past months. 

And that's how he found her, happily reclined, her eyes closed and a peaceful smile on her face. 

You make it so easy to love you, Rose Tyler...

He knew that he should just walk away, upstairs, to his room, which was far from hers, and just leave her be but he couldn't. 

Instead, the meta-crisis just stood there, watching. 

As if she could feel his presence, she turned her head to look at him. 

“Hello.” she cringed inwardly at how timid she sounded. 

“Hello.” He said back, sounding much the same as she did. 

“How are you?” The question held so much meaning. 

“Alright. One day at a time.” He answered with false bravado. 

Rose snorted delicately. “No, you're not.”

He looked down at his sneakers. She was right. 

“Neither am I.” Rose had no idea why she'd just blurted that out. She hadn't meant to. 

He shuffled a bit closer to her. 

“I'm sorry, for avoiding you those first two days.” She really was.“What happened wasn't your fault and I made it feel like it was, didn't I?”

“Yeah...” 

“You never left,” she whispered, amazement in her tone, “you stayed here, with me.”

“Honestly,” he shuffled the rest of the way to the couch that was right across from her and sat down, “I didn't want to be anywhere else.”

Rose gave him a sad, puzzled look. “Why? I treated you like rubbish.” Guilt. 

“Yeah, you did.” He agreed, no venom in his tone because he understood. “But I knew why.”

A sad smile this time. “None of that was your fault, or mine. He made that choice for us, and...” She looked down at her bare feet in the warm water, “I was so angry, hurt...” Tears stung her eyes now.   
She needed to get this out, he deserved to know. They had needed to talk for months now, but she'd avoided it tooth and nail. But here he was now...

“For a moment, well, more than a moment to be honest, I was so jealous of Donna. There she was, getting to do what I wanted, with the man I loved. I felt like he'd chosen her over me. And it hurt...”

“That's not what he did.” He had to defend his other self, he was a part of him after all. 

“I know.” Rose sighed heavily. “I quite like Donna actually, she's brilliant. Just in that moment...” she trailed off. 

Their eyes met, identical looks of sorrow on their faces. “Funny, I thought for a moment that you'd end up going after her too.” 

His eyes furrowed together in puzzlement. “Why? I never liked her...that way.”

Rose had the good grace to look a little embarrassed. “You two are connected through your creation. I thought that would create a bond...”

The implication was clear. 

“It's not that easy for us.” He wanted to hold her hand so badly, reassure her. “Rather, not easy for me.”

“Why not?” Rose asked, her eyes searching his. 

“Because,” he paused for a moment, to gather himself, “I'd already given my heart to someone else.”

Tears shone in her eyes. She reached out, holding her hand palm up towards him. 

He placed his hand in hers. For the first time, Rose really studied him, studied his hand. The same warmth, even the same little scars. Some she knew how he got and others she didn't. 

“You have beautiful hands.” she whispered, not really meaning to say it out loud, but she had anyway. 

“Thanks.” he whispered back, a little startled by her sudden compliment. 

Then a tear fell, hit his palm. Then another, and another. 

The words she'd struggling to hold onto for months began to spill out, and she couldn't stop them, they just flowed like a river. 

She told him how she'd struggled with the loss of the Doctor, how angry she'd been at everyone, at him, at the world. 

“...eventually, I had to stop. I didn't have enough energy for all that anger anymore.”

She did look tired, he thought, from so much hurt.

“I was so mixed up after it was all over.” He said softly. “I was so happy, thinking that this was it, this was my chance to have a normal life, with you.” A sad smile. “On the other hand, you were in so much pain, so lost, so sad. I hate seeing you like that.”

She knew that. Oh, the looks he'd given her. They would break her heart all over again.

“The part that hurts me the most sometimes is thinking about how right he is. I would've grown old, faded away, and there he would be, alone again. It would make me love him more, and in turn, I'd just hurt more. There were days that I couldn't come into work. I just had to be alone, away from everyone.”

The foot bath's water had gone cold, so Rose lifted her feet out and rested them on the edge. “So much for being strong.” A weak laugh.

“You forget you're only...” he stopped. No, that wouldn't be comforting at all. Not when it was the reason they were both here, trapped. 

“...Human?” 

That sad look again. 

“I'm not liking it so much these days.” her voice wobbled. God, he wanted to hold her, soothe her. 

Instead, he settled for entwining their fingers. Rose gave his hand a gentle squeeze. It felt the same, his touch, everything...

Maybe...just maybe...they really were the same. The only difference being the number of hearts. Just one...

Images she never let herself acknowledge before flashed before her eyes. A house, a yard, a swing set, children, a normal life...

This was the Doctor's gift to her, she realized. And yes, it was indeed a gift. Not a curse as she had originally set her mind to thinking. 

Was she ready to accept it, was the question. Could she live with normal? Well, that was relative now wasn't it considering her version included helping a multi-million dollar company monitor and defend the earth against hostile aliens. 

Rose met his eyes, which were so full of hope it made her heart squeeze in her chest. 

“I...” she paused, taking a breath, “I think I can do this. I mean us.” she gestured feebly between the two of them. 

The way his face lit up, the warm smile that bloomed there she knew she'd made the right choice. And not just for him, but for herself as well. 

Rose couldn't help but smile back.


End file.
